Safe Haven of Ealdor
by TonieleMegTina30
Summary: Balinor is the last Dragon Lord, hes gone into hiding in the village of Ealdor. There he meets a woman called Hunith, will this lead to a new life?
1. Chapter 1

Dragon Lord in Hiding

"You're sure they wont find me there Gaius?" The Dragon Lord asked, he looked around the borders of camelot for any sign of the Knights that would hunt him. It was dark and so far the alarm bells hadnt sounded, his unassuming disguise had worked.

"I am sure; I am just sorry it has come to this." Gaius cast a lingering look back the castle which was disappearing with every step, he hoped they didnt notice his absence. He looked back at Balinor sympathectically, since this purge had started many with magic had to go into hiding and even the creatures like the Dragons suffered.

"He tricked me and every Dragon Lord Gaius and now he has Kilgaharrah imprisoned under the castle. Balinor closed his eyes at the memory of the Dragon Lords being rounded up and killed, he could still hear their screams. He remembered what Uther Pendragon had said before the trap was sprung;

" _I wish to make peace with the Great Dragon, you will summon him; Dragon Lord." Uther's commanding voice broke the silence between the two men. The usual cold expression the King had warmed up and he seemed sincere in his words. Balinor agreed and began the chant to summon him:_

" _*O Drakon, e male so ftengmetta tesd'hup'anankes!"_

 _Balinor yelled in almost a roar, a few moments later flapping of wings could be heard and a very large tan/grey dragon appeared. He landed and then looked expectantly at his Lord, his kin; surely the man didnt believe this King._

 _Uther looked at the dragon with utter contempt, his expression of peaceful diplomatic ruler was gone and the ruthless and angry one was back as he signaled his knights…._

"Balinor? The longer we stay here the more chance of getting caught we have." Gaius warned looking back in the direction of Camelot.

Balinor shook his head after being brought back to earth with his friends warning and rode away, he hoped some day that tyrant would die and he could live freely along with all the other magic users and ofcourse the Dragon that had been betrayed. Gaius rode by him for a few more hours to point out villages he could hide in, "Ealdor should be distant enough" he pointed on a map, it was in Cenred's kingdom. "Thank you Gaius I will not forget your bravery and kindness, this cannot have been easy" he looked to the older man gratefully.

"No need for thanks, you are a friend and one day we may need you. Sadly Uther may never see that or understand, he has let his grief and anger take over his reason; I am not making excuses for him before you say anything." Gaius added before the Dragon Lord could make a remark.

"Farewell, and stay safe when travelling back to that place" Balinor waved his goodbye as he rode off into the night. He kept to the shadows as he now had to be one, he passed some Druids who looked a little nervous when hearing hoofbeats, _It is alright, I am like you._ He sent a telepathic message as a reassuring one and they seemed to have calmed down. His thoughts went to all the good people who had been hunted down, men, women, even children. Uther had left no stone unturned in his ruthless purge of everything magic, _Not all magic is evil, I hope he realises that before he draws his last breath._ The man thought continuing his ride, he didnt stop for anything; no sleep, food, or water. Balinor took Gaius's warning to heart and left no chance of being caught by those bloody Knights of Camelot.

Ealdor

Balinor rode into the small village by morning and noted the farmers were up early tilling the land, blacksmiths were getting their equipment ready, and market vendors were restocking their shelves. He heard the tell tale growl of his stomach and dismounted, he knew these people didnt have much in terms of food so he would try not to trouble them too much. As he walked his horse he saw a woman, a very beautiful one with brown hair and blue eyes. She was carrying a basket and minding her own business when she drew closer, she had covering over her head of light blue along with matching light blue dress and apron. "Excuse me, miss mind telling me where.."

"Come with me" the woman interrupted, her smile suddenly looked forced and her eyes were urgent. "Act casual and come with me" she urges silently and puts a hand on his arm, it lingers there for a few seconds and then drops to her side.

"Alright" he smiles back and grabs an apple from her basket as if she offered it to him , he followed her to her home; it was small and had what he would consider a guest bedroom close by almost like another home.

Once they entered the house the woman shut the door behind her and set her basket on the table, "You are Balinor? Gaius told me to expect you in this letter he sent me a couple days ago."

"Yes I am Balinor, mind telling me your name? Friend of Gaius?" he asked smiling slightly to lighten the mood.

"I am Hunith, it is nice to meet you. You will be staying with me, I warn you we do not have much in terms of food or defences around here but you will find peace and a place to hide." She spoke in a warm tone that made Balinor relax in her presence, he looked around his new home, very little decorations save a few flower pots adorned the place on the inside; it was simple and lived in. "I will show you to your room its outside, I do not have a bath so you will have to go down by the river to clean up" She says walking outside to show him his room.

"Thank you for your help Hunith, you are taking great risk. I only wish we had met under more pleasant circumstances." He stood in the doorway of his new home and looked down into her eyes, _what beautiful gems for eyes._

Hunith smiled shyly when she felt his eyes on her, "As do I, but alas this is how we are destined to meet it seems"

"I have chores to go to but should you need anything come and find me, feel free to walk around and familiarise yourself with the village, you want to blend in; act like you have lived here. I trust you can tend to your horse? There is a make shift stable over there" she points to the small stable.

"Yes, I can." he didnt want her to have to worry about the horse too.

She nods and quickly disappears into the crowd of villagers now awake and going about their day not paying attention to the new comer.

He looked around at his new home and unpacked, he knew the second Uther found him gone he would dispatch knights, he just hoped they wouldnt find him here. The Dragon Lord did not want to endanger anyone from this village especially his host. For now he was safe and hidden away, he knew there would be a day he would have to leave but for now….he looked over to where Hunith had disappeared to, _I'll be alright._


	2. Chapter 2

Village Life and Rules

A rooster crowing near by startled the Dragon Lord awake, he looked around his small stone walled room he had been staying in for two weeks now and he still found himself jumping at shadows from time to time. _They could still find me….I cant endanger these people,_ Balinor kept thinking to himself. He put on his clothes and heard a knock on the door, it was the fair hunith with breakfast and a smile as usual. He gazed down at her, she was always a welcome sight to him; he also saw her as brave. "Good morning Hunith" he greets her with a small bow of his head.

"I am no noble but good morning to you too, I trust you slept better?" she enquired, sometimes she would hear his yells and door opening to get some air. This made her worry, _what had happened? I only know a little but not the whole….no...only if he wants to tell me._ Hunith stopped herself from asking what had transpired.

"A little yes, nightmares still come and go" He answered her to the best of his abilities, he didnt want to give her the details of Uther's ruthlessness.

"Good" she pushed her way inside and shut the door behind her, "I have something serious to discuss and I wanted to discuss this when the village is still relatively asleep; I know you have been using magic." her voice turned serious as did her eyes, "It is not noticeable by all but I have seen it, it needs to stop."

Balinor's eyes narrowed and looked away from the weight of her stare, "I am sorry, its part of who I am, sometimes I cant-"

"Never mind your excuses Balinor, you could be caught and not everyone in this village is as nice as I and I fear not only for you but the safety of this village. See that it stops….atleast outside these walls...I have a feeling you will continue anyway. If you must use magic then use it far from here, you know as well I that we do not have much here and having Knights from Camelot rush in here…." she trailed off and lifted his chin to face her, "Please for my sake and the sake of everyone else here...be more careful"

"Yes ofcourse, I will; I am sorry you are right there is no excuse" his face flushed at her touch and looking into her eyes was something he felt he could do all day.

"And dont look at me like that" Hunith backed up after handing him his breakfast and telling him off, "I have work to do and so do you"

He watched her leave and sighed, _as usual my lady fair you are right._ Balinor left his little hovel and got to work, his life in the village had consisted of farming, repairing, and tending to the horses. He liked the quiet life so far, though it had taken time to get used to; Hunith had helped him where she could and even explained rules. The big one was no magic, that was hard to swallow at first as it was apart of him; as a lad he felt he would die if he couldnt use it. For Hunith...he would forgo using it, _especially after her stern words this morning….but I needed to hear it._ Balinor spotted Hunith again, she was helping a small child with their wooden makeshift horse, it put a smile on his face. She was so caring and kind to others, yet she was strong and brave too for taking on the job of protecting and hiding him.

 _I guess I can sacrifice the use of magic given how much trouble she could get in._ He reasoned with himself deciding that at this time he wasn't a sorcerer or a dragon lord he was just a normal, ordinary, and very plain…. _this is going to be harder than I thought._ He looked back at hunith and found some form of resolve; for her he would resist using magic. Hunith looked at him and smiled, the child was taken care of so she moved on to her next set of chores for the day, Balinor went on to his. They did not see each other again til noon when the sun was beating down on them and heat drove them and others to the nearby river.

Balinor decided to play around and walk by casually splashing Hunith who was getting water, he laughed when she shrieked, "Oh sorry thought you'd want to cool off"

Hunith nodded and took the bucket of water she was holding and walked up to him, "I did in fact though it would be remiss of me not to return the favour!" she poured the water on his head in playful retaliation before running off giggling. Balinor laughed and chased after her, neither were caring about the snickering villagers watching. He chased her further into the woods and away from the gawkers, "Alright come out, I promise no more splashing" he said noting they were still beside a river.

"I see water and I wouldnt put it past you" her voice came from high in the trees, a gleaming pair of blue eyes watched him. She had managed to grab more water in her bucket for him to get "cooled off" once more. She waited til just the right moment and threw her voice when she spoke again, it would sound like its coming from another tree, "Getting colder" she shouted and smirked when he appeared confused. He took a few more steps towards her tree and well within range….she readied the bucket and when he was in the right spot…*SPLASH!*

Balinor felt water splash on his head, he then heard laughter from above, the mischievous woman was up high on a perch and kicking her legs, "When you get down from there I will have few surprises" he laughed as he brushed wet hair out of his eyes.

Hunith leapt down from the tree and flicked more water from her fingertips, "Oh really"

He grabbed her hand and pulled her a little closer, both their faces flushed as contact was made. There was a silence that followed causing both to release, "I...better go...get some more water" she walked away quickly catching her breath and calming the butterflies in her stomach that always seemed active when he was present. Balinor nodded and calmed his own racing heart, his hand still tingled at the sensation of holding hers just now. He raised his eyebrows when birds started to sing again, it was as if the whole of nature wanted to see what happened when he and Hunith held hands. He walked down the overgrown path that lead to the small village he was now learning to call home for however long it would be, _I hope its forever, let Uther stay in Camelot and forget about me._ He silently wished, "probably some other sorcerer by now or druid causing problems by now for him to waste his men on searching for me" he muttered to the air. He often wondered how Gaius was doing after all this "War against magic" had begun and he was being hidden away, _Should have brought the old man with me...no that would have arose suspicion._ He continued to think as he walked and then heard a voice in his head, _"Careful Dragon Lord; not everyone in that village is trustworthy"_

" _Who are you? And I am aware of it"_ he answered back, he looked for the source but couldnt find it.

" _Who I am is not important, heed my words, there are a few who would have you sent back to Camelot in chains stay vigilant."_ The voice warned again.

" _I will keep that in mind….thank you"_ Balinor meant what he said but ran away from the eeriness of the clearing and voice he had heard.

Later that evening the two enjoyed a meal together as they had for the past couple of weeks, there was something there growing between them that neither was ready to admit just yet. They looked into each others eyes then looked away several times before he finally spoke, "I know you said no magic but can I show you something?"

Hunith looked out of the windows and then back at him, she couldnt believe he was asking this after she had told him not to use it; he was insistent however and she closed the faded floral curtains. "Right, but make it quick, I am surprised I am allowing this at all"

Balinor smiled and placed candles on the table before her, he said in barely a whisper, "Hoppaþ nu swilce swá lieg fleogan."

The fire on the candles floated in mid air away from the wicks, Hunith stared in wonder as the small lights danced around her head then back to the candle wicks. _Alright, that was impressive..._ she admitted, "I dont know what to say, that was beautiful. In doing something like that I am wondering what made Uther turn against magic."

"I dont know the details but not all magic is good, its not all bad either; unfortunately Uther refuses to see the beauty in it. I am not sure he ever had seen it in the first place" He says bitterly but quickly smiles to keep things light, "Besides that trick wasnt for Uther, it was for you"

Hunith still dazzled by the small use of magic blushed and could barely speak, "I thank you...however do not make this a habit Balinor. Remember what I said earlier"

"I remember My Lady, no magic." He repeated, "Its getting dark I better head to bed"

"Yes, we have another day of work tomorrow" Hunith agreed and opened the door for him, her heart still raced from his use of magic; was it the sparkle in his eyes as he performed that trick? She didnt know, she just couldnt stop thinking of him afterwards. _Am I right to keep him from using magic? Yes...and no...on one hand, if someone discovers and...well that could cause trouble for everyone. On the other hand, he looks happy when he uses magic and its not hurting anyone...nevermind that I need to stay resolute. I am supposed to hide him away from Uther and his Knights not let him use magic when he sees fit…._ Hunith could barely sleep because of the conflict she felt inside, she felt bad for restraining his use of magic but it wasnt just the two of them on a farm in the middle of nowhere; others lived here too. _We are both taking risks here...caution should be paramount._ She lie awake staring at the grey ceiling in the moonlight still wondering if she was doing the right thing.

Balinor also lie awake, he knew the precarious position Hunith and himself were in; should he be discovered it could spell trouble for both. He also was glad to have shown her what good magic can do, should she have had any negative connotations of it. He doubted it, she was optimistic but very grounded. She could see the good in people which inspired him to see the world in a more positive light, it was hard after his fellow dragon lords died, his dragon imprisoned, and... _should I just leave? I am endangering her and this village._ He got up and stared into the moonlight that he knew Hunith was also staring at as she too could not sleep.

When they finally did sleep they both dreamt of a time where magic could be used freely and without fear, village life would remain the same but with different rules. Outside the dreamworld however was the reality; Balinor had to stay hidden as did all magic users.


End file.
